Monday, December 26, 2011

Trivium

I did a quick Google search for images and came across this one. Actually, the one I found was a little more simple without as many lables. In fact, it really only had the three main circles, the planetary symbols and the words Espirit, Ame and Corps (Spirit, Soul and Body).

The concept is replete throughout history and several religions, but I thought this was quite impressive. It's relatively simple but still complex. The Spirit and Soul combine to create the Body, a concept I have posted elsewhere. Within the circles we see the circumpunct labled "Or", French for Gold. The crescent is labled "argent" (Silver) and then Saturn is labled "Plumb" for lead. The Plumb, or plumbum, is Latin for Lead which we derive from the Romans who invented a "plumbing" system. A Plumb Rule is a tool used in ancient times by dangling a piece of lead from a string and comparing it to a wall or any perpendicular structure to ensure that it is properly upright. Freemason's use this design as the badge of the Junior Warden in a Lodge.

Around the outside we see the French words for Air, Fire, Water and Earth - the four elements. Notice that air, the spiritual soul, is at the top. As we move down towards the earth, fire and water combine to create the body. Fire is archetypically male and water is archetypically female, and the corporal manifestation of their combination creates earth (ame corporal, espirit corporal labeled along either side of the picture).

Try looking up work by Dennis Hauck. There is also the Diploma Course in Astrology by Robert Zoller under the lesson describing the Archetype in which he addresses the Universal Intelligence, Universal Soul and Nature as the three pillars of the universe. Often times in ancient woodcuts you might find an image of a King, Queen and child which depicts the same concept. You might also Google the Alchemy Website by Adam McLean. He has multiple transcribed articles dating back centuries. Look for work by Paracelsus who described the Sulphur, Mercury and Salt.